Denial Ain't Just a River
by Merlinshmerlin
Summary: "I'm going to kill you!" Tony screamed as he lunged across the room and threw a punch directly at Steve's face. More of an Iron Man fanfic but also has the Avengers. PEPPERONY. tony!whump (lots eep)
1. Chapter 1

**_AN: This story is set after The Avengers and before IM 3 so they are in New York. I'm using my imagination with what the Stark Tower contains. _**

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"I'm going to kill you!" Tony screamed as he lunged across the room and threw a punch directly at Steve's face. Steve dodged the punch, grabbed Tony's arm, and twisted him over his shoulder landing Tony flat on his back with the breath knocked out of him. Tony gasped for air with wide eyes and clenched his fists.

"Sorry. It's kind of a reflex." Steve said as he scratched the back of his head and reached out a hand to help Tony up. Instead Tony declined his help and grabbed Steve's arm pulling him down on the ground. He landed on his chest but was back on his feet within seconds ready to take Tony on. Tony jumped to his feet and was a little unsteady but he still swung at Steve, missing. Steve grabbed Tony's arm and twisted him down and held his head with his arm around Tony's neck. Steve had a few inches on Tony so this wasn't a difficult task.

"What are you doing, Stark?" Steve asked with an exasperated tone.

"Trying to kill you!" Tony yelled as he struggled to free himself from Steve's grasp. After a few moments of struggle Tony finally calmed down and let out a deep breath.

"If I let go will you promise to not attack me?" Asked Steve calmly.

"Sure." Said Tony through gritted teeth.

Steve quickly let go of him and jumped back before Tony had a chance to retaliate. Tony wiped the sweat off of his forehead with his arm and glared at Steve.

"You can't be mad at me and not tell me why." Said Steve as he put his hands up to show he was innocent.

"Don't act like you have no clue what I'm talking about." Tony snapped.

Steve looked around the room as if looking to see if he was talking to someone else but as he did that Tony jumped at Steve and punched him square in the nose. He staggered backwards and felt his nose for blood. When he removed his hand he found it red and sticky. He glanced up at Tony and saw him standing there presumptuously. I can fix that Steve thought as he stood up straight. Tony backed up a little because he was in fact smaller than Steve.

"Tony, please stop this. I don't want to hurt you." Said Steve apologetically.

"Hurt me?" Tony sounded pretty cocky.

Tony took another shot at Steve's face, but Steve grabbed his fist in his hand tightly and punched Tony in the face with his other hand. Tony stayed on his feet so Steve punched him again. And again. Tony went week in the knees and lurched forwards. Steve caught Tony and laid him on the ground gently still holding his fist and let go. Tony groaned and lifted his hand to his face and felt the warm blood. His nose was bleeding and he split his lip. Steve turned on his heel and headed for the door but right as he was reaching for the door knob Tony jumped on him from the back and slammed him into the door. Steve whipped around and pushed Tony into the wall but he may have pushed a little too hard. Tony collapsed to the ground, unconscious from the blow to his head.

"Goodness," Steve sighed as he shook his wrist which got bent at a strange angle when Tony slammed him into the door. He shoved Tony with his foot but he was out cold. I mean that is what you get when you try to mess with a super human.

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~3 days earlier~

"Carefully, carefully, carefu-"

"Could you not?" Interrupted Bruce who was very annoyed and becoming frustrated with his work. He was gently laying out an intricate circuit to help Tony because his hands are more steady at the moment,"Whew," he let out a sigh of relief,"Tell me again why you couldn't do that?"

"I don't know. My hands are shaky today." Answered Tony honestly,"and I've got a bit of a headache." He rubbed his forehead and squinted his eyes.

"Okay, well I'm glad to help." Bruce smiled,"Lets take a break for lunch." He motioned to the door while wiping his hands on a rag.

"Nah, you can go ahead. I'll get something later." Tony replied without lifting his head from what he was doing.

Bruce eyed him suspiciously,"Okay then. I'll see you later."

"M'kay." Tony mumbled still not making eye contact with Bruce.

Bruce looked at him for a second more and then walked out of the room only to run into Pepper.

"Oh hey, Bruce."

"Hey, Pepper." He replied awkwardly.

"Is Tony busy?"

"Um a little," he raised his eyebrows.

"Oh okay I'll just bother him later. He's been in there a lot lately. I didn't even see him come to bed last night," she looked concerned.

"Yeah he just seems a bit caught up in his work," said Bruce comfortingly,"I'm sure he'll be done soon."

"Yeah," Pepper replied as she glanced through the glass door at him,"Well where are you headed?"

"I'm going to go get something to eat, care to join me?" Bruce flashed a friendly smile.

"Oh no thanks I'm good! I'll see you around?" Pepper said politely.

"Sure thing!" Bruce replied and waved at her as he walked off.

Pepper had her hands full and she stared at Tony through the window wondering if she should check on him.

She huffed out a sigh and decided to go say hey. Since her hands were full she pushed on the door with her back and walked in.

"Hey, Tony." She was wearing heals as usual and a pencil skirt.

"Oh hey," Tony smiled and stopped what he was doing for Pepper. He always stopped what he was doing for Pepper.

"You've been in here a while, Tony. Why don't you take a break?" Pepper said with a sweet smile.

"No, I'm good." He replied gently hoping for no quarrel.

"Oh alright." She paused for a moment,"But I better see you come to bed tonight." She smiled and raised an eyebrow.

"Alright. See you later." He flashed her a fake smile then squinted his eyes,"Hey, um, could you bring me some pain killer?"

She looked at him for a moment,"Okay," and she walked out of the room. She hated it when Tony got like this. Sometimes he wouldn't come out of his workshop for days.

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Pepper walked off of the stark tower elevator and into the living room after she got back from a late afternoon meeting. It was awfully quiet and she knew Tony was most likely still I'm the workshop fixing up or modifying his suit, which she thought had enough modifications already. She walked into the workshop and found Tony bent over tinkering with the boot from his suit.

"Ahem," Pepper broke the silence causing Tony to jump up from what he was doing, step on a screwdriver, and fall on his back.

"Whew," he sighed,"You scared me, Pep."

"I'm sorry," she giggled,"Have you even been out of here since this morning?"

"Uh-sure. Yeah, yeah I have." Tony lied.

"JARVIS?" Pepper called out.

"My records indicate that Mister Stark has not left the room for over 24 hours, ma'am."

"Tony! So you didn't even go to bed last night?" She didn't know whether to be sympathetic or angry.

"I'm surprised you didn't notice," he raised his eyebrows.

Angry. She was definitely angry,"Tony, you can't keep running on fumes like this. It's not healthy." Now turning to sympathy again.

"I'm fine, Pepper. I'm not even tired."

"You don't look fine and you certainly don't look not tired."

He shrugged.

"You've got an hour left in here. After that you need to go take a shower and go to bed tonight."

"Okay," he wasn't going to argue.

"I'll see you," she pointed to fingers at her eyes and back at Tony and walked out the door.

Tony bent back over and looked at his boot. He took a screwdriver and snapped a small bit into place causing sparks to fly so he quickly pried it out and rubbed his face in frustration. This was the 6th failure today. He sat in his rolling chair and rolled over to his computer to look over it again and changed a few numbers. He rolled over to another screen and began typing but before he knew it he looked at the clock and it was ten minutes past eleven o'clock.

"Jarvis, please tell me my clock is set wrong?"

"No sir, it appears you have failed to carry out mrs. Potts agreement."

"[Thank you], Jarvis." Tony exhaled and jumped out of his chair and out of his workshop.

Slowly he opened the door and found that the lamp on the bedside table was still on and Pepper was awake, reading a book. She didn't look up as Tony walked completely into the room.

"One hour, hm?" She still didn't look up.

"Yeah sorry. Time kind of got away from me." He replied.

"Oh yes. I'm sure it does. I'm also sure you're not getting into this bed like that so go take a shower." Pepper directed him.

"Okay, sweetheart," he smiled and walked into the bathroom backwards keeping his eyes on Pepper.

He shut the door behind him and turned on the shower. Steam from the hot shower filled the room, fogging up the mirror. He stepped into the shower and let the warm water pour over him and cleanse his body.

After about 30 minutes Pepper was just about to turn off the lamp when Tony Popped out of the steamy bathroom.

"Whew! That was refreshing." Tony beamed.

"I'm glad and I'm also tired. So are you! Lets go to bed."

Tony ran across the room and leapt onto the bed at Pepper's feet.

"Tony I'm too tired. We'll do this another night," she smiled weakly.

Tony crawled around next to her and put his arms around her. She couldn't help giggling but she pushed him off.

"Good night," she turned over on her side facing away from him.

Disappointed, he laid on his back and stared at the ceiling. Although he was quite sleep deprived he couldn't seem to fall asleep. He turned on his left side and turned on his right side. Laid on his stomach and on his back. Right when he sat up Pepper abruptly turned around,"Please! Find a side to lie on," she hissed. Slowly he laid back down for a moment but then he got hot. The comforter on top of them all of the sudden seemed very insulated and seemed to be obtaining all of their heat. He fluffed the blanket up and felt the cool air seep under the blanket. It felt so good that he folded it over and exposed his legs, but then he got too cold so he covered himself back up. Suddenly he was too hot again so he threw the blanket off of his body and quickly turned over onto his stomach making a lot of noise. Pepper couldn't stand it any longer and once more abruptly turned around to face him. She pointed a finger at the door,"Get. Out." She said deeply.

"Okay," Tony sighed and grabbed a pillow as he headed out the door,"Love you."

"Go." She said with a flat tone.

The door softly clicked behind him as he shuffled over to the couch with his pillow. He threw it down on the couch and fell on the couch roughly. The cold leather felt good and he stared at the ceiling and looked out the window then over at the clock on the wall. It was about five minutes before twelve o'clock and he could still hear the busy streets of New York. He glanced over to his workshop and had a thought. It was a good thought so he jumped up off the couch and ran on his tip toes to his workshop. When the door opened all the fluorescent lights automatically buzzed on and Jarvis welcomed Tony,"Hello, Sir. Do yo-"

"Shh! Shh! No, no. Be quiet." Tony quickly interrupted the AI.

"Hush mode activated," Jarvis said in a quit voice."

"Thank you, Jarvis."

"Always my pleasure, sir." Jarvis almost whispered.

Tony glanced over at his suit and out the window.

"Pepper would kill me, wouldn't she?" Tony said to his AI quietly.

"Indeed, Sir. Figuratively that is."

"Yeah." He lowered his head and scratched the back of his neck,"but I mean, why would she be able to find out? Jarvis, ready my suit."

"Are you sure?"

"As sure as I am an idiot."

"Readying your suit."

"Alright," he huffed.

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Pepper awoke again after she sent Tony away. It was twelve thirty so she hadn't been asleep for very long. The guilt was beginning to get to her and after a while she couldn't get the image of his puppy eyes when she sent him away out of her mind. Why did she love this man so much. She got out of her bed slowly and quietly opened the door. She tiptoed over to the couch and saw what she thought was tony under a blanket on the couch. He was being suspiciously still so she tapped him. He was suspiciously plush. The smiled on her face quickly faded to anger. What was he doing that he had to set up a decoy? She briskly walked over to the workshop door and found the lights off so now she really had no clue where he was. She walked over to her cell phone and dialed his number and waited.

Damn, Pepper's face appeared on the screen in front of him showing she was calling him.

"Answer it? Or don't answer it? Not answering it would be the easy way to go but then she'd worry about me. Jarvis, do you think there is anyway I can pull this as I was going on a walk?"

"Well, Sir, it is most unlikely but always worth a shot."

"Very well then." He answered the phone.

"Tony? Tony! Where did you go?" Pepper almost screamed into the phone.

"I just went on a walk because I can't sleep."

"You went on a walk? In New York? At night? As if, Tony."

"Okay so I went on a night... Fly," he waited for her to explode.

"Get your ass back here! You haven't slept in over 24 hours, Tony. You're on a slippery slope. This could be dangerous."

"Pepper, how could this be dangerous?" He inquired.

"I don't know, you could pass out at any time." She threw that one out there.

"Pepper, relax. If I passed out auto pilot mode would take over," Tony caught it and threw it back at her.

"Tony! Is that supposed to be assuring?" She yelled.

"God," he said under his breath,"I'm on my way back." And he hung up the phone.

Pepper took a deep breath to control her anger and slammed her cell phone down. She waited with crossed arms for Tony to get back.

Finally the iron man suit landed on the platform of the Stark Tower and began to be disassembled off of his body with robot arms as he slowly walked across it. Pepper stood there watching with crossed arms and glaring.

"God this is awkward. I feel like a child waiting for his sentence."

"Maybe if you quit acting like a child I would have to make you feel like one!" She spat.

He gave her those puppy eyes and looked down at the ground.

"Tony, you're a grown man and I know I cannot stop you from doing things, but could you please just for me quit being so self-destructive? I worry about you. So could you please, for me, take care of yourself for once in a while?"

"Yes, Pepper. Anything for you." He smiled at her but she didn't smile,"Does this mean I still have to sleep on the couch?"

She didn't say a word and turned around.

"What is this? A yes or no?" Tony called out.

Pepper got to their bedroom and shut the door.

"No?" He whispered.

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**Thanks for reading! All comments and critiques are greatly appreciated! **

**I'll try to have the next chapter up next week! **


	2. Chapter 2

**_CHAPTER 2_**

*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*

Tony jolted awake from the sound of the smoke detector in his workshop. He hopped off the couch without a second thought and sprinted for his workshop. Unfortunately his foot got caught on the blanket he was sleeping with and he fell on the ground face first. He jumped up making his way quickly to the workshop to see what the problem was. In the back corner of the room he saw his boot ablaze. Quickly he grabbed the fire extinguisher and ran over to it spraying it with the white foam.

"Are you kidding me?" He said to himself.

All of his work from yesterday had been destroyed. The papers next to it were turned to ash and if he had not come quicker the bottle of isopropyl alcohol on the floor would have caught fire. His boot was charred and misshapen from the flames. He glanced at the clock on the wall and it was only four in the morning. The charred papers were of no use anymore so he swept them into a trash can and sat down in front of the boot. He didn't know where to start from where he was. It wasn't too bad but the circuit boards were shot and some of the wiring was messed up. He pulled out a screwdriver and got to work. Before he knew it, it was already almost seven o'clock so he put down what he was doing and made sure Pepper wasn't awake, but to his dismay she was sitting in the kitchen with a cup of coffee reading the newspaper so he played it cool and walked in like nothing was wrong.

"Good morning," He grabbed a coffee cup out of the cabinet,"Did you sleep well?"

"Should I ask you the same?" She replied flatly.

"What do you mean?" Tony asked quizzically.

"Tony, I was up at 5 o'clock and you weren't asleep."

"Why did you wake up so early?" He tried to seem concerned.

"You have to sleep sometime. You look horrible. Have you seen yourself lately? What is up with your nose?" She said with an exasperated tone,"You have to attend that charity event tonight."

"You look lovely too, Pepper." He laid his head on the countertop."I tripped this morning."

"It's a charity ball, Tony. I really want to go. I even got a new dress. Thank you."

"You're welcome?" He squinted up at her.

"Yes, now I'll be back at five thirty to get ready." She eyed him.

"What?" He asked defensively.

"You better be ready."

"What are you talkin-"

"Tony."

"Why would you think that-"

"Tony!" He quit talking,"Tony, I know you. I also know you are not one to keep your word."

"Okay," he mumbled.

"What?"

"Okay, I said!" He rolled his eyes,"You're treating me like a child again."

"You're acting like a child, Tony!"

"I-"

"I'm through with this. You better be ready," she interrupted him.

Pepper hopped up from her seat and walked onto the elevator. Tony silently waved at her and was ignored. He huffed a sigh and walked back to his workshop with a cup of coffee in his hand and the newspaper under his arm.

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At two o'clock Pepper was walking up to the stark tower for lunch when she ran into Steve. He had on a collared shirt and flowers in his hand.

"Oh hey, Steve. Where are you going?" She asked sweetly.

"Oh I'm going to meet this girl. It's nothing," he began to blush.

"You have fun," Said Pepper with a huge smile.

When Pepper stepped off the elevator on her floor it was silent. She peeked around the corner in the kitchen and didn't find Tony. She looked in the glass door leading to his workshop and didn't see him in there either. Last she opened the door of their bedroom and found all the lights out and Tony sprawled out in bed fast asleep. She smiled and shut the door quietly. As soon and the door clicked Tony sat up in bed and opened his laptop and began typing. Pepper stood outside of the door when she closed it and heard a faint tapping noise. She began boiling with rage and she flung the door open,"You are unbelievable!" She screamed at him.

"Pepper, I-"

"Just don't even." She gave Tony the palm.

"I-I'm not going to talk to the hand, Pep." He said quietly.

"If you keep acting like this thats all you'll ever talk to. Now if you excuse me I'm going to go out for lunch with Happy." She said as she slammed the door behind her.

"I don't understand what I did wrong." Tony called out.

"It appears, Sir, that you may have offended Miss Potts." Jarvis replied.

"I didn't ask you, Jarvis." He bit out.

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It was a beautiful afternoon in New York and Steve Rogers sat down at an outdoor cafe with his flowers while he waited for his date to arrive. He had met her after the incident with Loki when she thanked him for saving her life. She was a nice girl. Very pretty and young. He was surprised that she wasn't freaked out about the fact that he was over ninety years old. Either she was a very cool person or had no clue, which would make things a little awkward. He began tapping nervously on the table and looked at his watch. After a few moments a waiter approached him.

"Would you care for something to drink?" He asked politely.

"Uh yeah. Two waters. I'm waiting for someone."

"Very well. I'll be right back." And he walked away.

Steve quit tapping and instead began to shake his leg very quickly. The waiter came back with the waters after a few minutes,"Shall I come back in a moment?" He asked.

"Uh yes. That would be nice." He smiled.

Forty five minutes passed and she hadn't showed up. He had calmed down by now and was watching the news on a TV in the corner.

"Tonight in New York City, an annual charity ball is being held and we are expecting some big guests. Sources show that none other than Tony Stark should be present along with-"

Steve turned his head abruptly when the waiter came back and tapped on his shoulder,"Sir, you've been here almost an hour now and we need these tables for a party. I'm sure your," his eyes glanced at the flours in front of the other seat,"_Date_ would understand."

Steve opened his mouth but closed it and answered,"Ah- very well." He flashed the waiter a very fake smile.

Steve grabbed the beautiful bouquet of flowers that put him back a few bucks and walked down the street back to the Stark Tower. There was a bench near the front door of the building that he had never seen anyone sit on before so he gave it a shot. It was a nice bench. Probably the cleanest in New York City. He stared down at the flowers he was holding and memories rushed into his mind. Memories of the war and of course memories of Peggy. These flowers couldn't compare to her beauty. He still owed her a date and he couldn't repay her now. He looked up from the beautiful flowers and was met by another beautiful sight.

"Oh hey, Steve." Pepper smiled at him from above.

"Hey, Pepper." He tried to smile at her but was having a hard time. He saw her eyes roam to the flowers,"Yeah it didn't go too well."

"Oh I'm sorry," she looked genuinely upset for him,"Well I came back a little early, but Tony and I are going to that Charity Ball. All the avengers were invited. Are you coming?"

"Oh I don't know. I don't think anyone but you and Tony are going." He tried to make an excuse.

"Well how is that stopping you from coming with us?"

"I don't want to be a third wheel or anything." He attempted again.

"Oh come on, Steve! It will be fun." She urged him.

"Okay," he sighed,"I'll see."

"Great! I'll see you there!" She sounded excited and Steve couldn't bare to disappoint _another_ lady.

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"Tony, I'm ready!" Pepper called from the living room. She waited and heard no reply,"Tony?" She yelled again.

After no reply she walked to Tony's workshop and found him working with the music blaring. When she opened the door the music cut off and Tony whipped around,"You can't do that! How many times must I tell you?"

"Tony! Did you seriously forget?" She was about to explode.

"Forget wha- oh yeah. That's right." He widened his eyes with innocence.

"Tony, you promised." She had just about had enough.

"Okay I'll tell you what. I'm in the middle of something huge and very very important," Pepper crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows,"I will meet you at the event in forty five minutes or you can wait. Your choice."

"Tony." She whined.

"I promise. You have my word." He laid his hand on the arc reactor.

"Fine," she sagged her shoulders and walked out the door while Tony continued what he was doing.

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Pepper walked out the doors of the building and saw Steve still sitting outside.

"You're still out here?" She asked with a surprised tone.

"Yeah. Crazy how time flies when you're alone with your thoughts," He watched Pepper raise her eyebrows,"I'm kidding. I clearly went inside and got ready...and I'm sitting on a different bench." He motioned at his clothing and looked at the other bench where the lovely flowers were laying. "I still had a few minutes so I decided to sit out here. I like it. I think people take these benches for granted." He smiled when he saw the smile on Pepper's face.

"Tony isn't coming with me right now. Would you like a ride?"

"Sure," he squinted his eyes as he smiled. "Ah-" he jumped up and grabbed the flowers off of the other bench,"They've been out of water for a few hours but they look good to me." He offered her the still beautiful flowers.

"Thank you," she said as she smelled the flowers.

"Happy, is driving us. Do you want to go now?"

"Sure," he answered with enthusiasm and held out his arm for her to take.

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In Tony's workshop he was working away when he glanced at the clock and saw it was eighty thirty.

"Oh my god," he gaped.

His heart began to race because he knew how upset Pepper would be. He was upset with himself as well. Luckily this event lasted until ten o'clock so he could make his appearance and give a generous donation. He raced out of the workshop and jumped in the shower as fast as he could.

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Pepper laughed as she finished talking to the nice couple who were hosting the event. She looked past them and saw Steve standing alone staring at her. He quickly looked away and took a sip of his drink. She looked at her watch and her heart sank. She knew Tony could be selfish but he was on a roll lately. She stood alone next to a window that looked out over the city. She couldn't see any stars. The city lights do that. Steve walked up next to her with a drink.

"Where's Tony?" Steve asked.

"Oh you know him. Always fashionably late." She smiled but it just looked like she was bearing her teeth.

"Care to sit?" He motioned at the table.

She pondered for a moment,"Yeah, sure."

They both sat down and Pepper took another look at her watch and glanced at the entrance.

"I wouldn't exactly call over an hour fashionably late." Steve blatantly stated.

"Yeah. I just don't know when I can trust Tony anymore. We're supposed to be in a stable relationship. Would you call this stable?"

"I don't know what I'd call it," Steve admitted.

"Neither would I," Pepper complied.

"You know I still love him though," she smiled.

"Yes, I do. And I don't understand."

"He's really a nice guy," she stopped and saw the look on Cap's face,"Really he is." She laughed.

"I don't doubt that he has his moments. I'm sure everyone does."

At that moment a song began playing. Pepper widened her eyes,"I love this song! Lets dance!" She said enthusiastically.

"Oh I don't know, I don't really know how to dance," he admitted.

Pepper got up from her seat and grabbed his hand and pulled him up.

"Come on it will be fun!"

"Alright, but you might want to watch out for your feet."

Steve grabbed her hand and spun her around.

"Steve, you said you couldn't dance." She giggled.

"I've picked up a few things over the years... That I wasn't frozen," he began to state off into space thinking about it again.

"Steve? Are you okay?"

He shook his head and snapped out of it,"Yeah, yeah." He answered.

Steve spun her around and grabbed her back holding her with her hand in his other hand. Their faces came close together as both of them got caught up in the moment their lips almost touching. Pepper suddenly opened her eyes and saw Tony standing near the entrance staring at them with the most disappointed look on his face she had ever seen. She pushed Steve away and ran to where Tony was standing but men and women got in the way and she lost sight of him.

"Hey, what's the problem?" Steve came up behind her.

"Um nothing. About that back there it didn't happen, okay?" She saw the look on Steve's face,"I know it's hard for you to understand, but I love Tony and I just want to be your friend."

"Oh- yeah, yeah that's absolutely fine." He scratched the back of his neck.

"Thank you though. For joining me." She smiled.

"Yeah, sure. No problem."

"I ought to go now."

"Bye, Pepper." He said sadly.

She turned around and swiftly made her way to the doors already dialing Happy on her cell phone.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Tony walked into the party looking all around for Pepper. He took a few pictures and said hi to the cameras as he searched frantically. He looked across the room and something caught his eye. Pepper was about to kiss Capsicle. His heart sank to his stomach as he saw it. He surprisingly wasn't overcome by anger but complete and utter disappointment. He saw her look at him but her face looked not embarrassed but smirky. He turned around as quick as he could and ran out the doors. He didn't call for a car he just walked down the sidewalk until he came to a random alley way. It was dark and dirty but he didn't care. He loosened his tie and leaned against his knees breathing hard.

"What have I done?" He panted nervously. Pepper was the best thing that had ever happened to him and he had ruined it. He didn't have hate towards her because he had been a total ass to her recently. She deserved to be mad. He had anger towards Cap for taking her away from him. His throat burned as be was on the verge of tears. After a few more minutes of heavy breathing he calmed down and leaned against the wall, sinking to the floor. He rubbed his face and felt his phone vibrating.

It was Happy.

"Uh-hello?" His voice was a little shaky.

"Hey, Tony. What happened? Pepper is worried about you. She said you ran off."

"I'm fine, Happy." He lied.

"Where are you? Do you need me to pick you up?"

"Nah I'm good."

"Are you roaming around the streets alone... At night... Unarmed... Billionaire?"

"Yes but I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"Not to my knowledge," happy mumbled.

"Huh?" Tony asked.

"Nothing." There was a pause,"Okay just call me if you need me."

"Alright. Bye." Tony hung up.

He stuffed his phone back in his pocket and stood up. He brushed the dirt off his pants and looked around. Wherever he was it wasn't somewhere he was familiar with or comfortable in. He walked back in the direction he came from and caught a cab. The car pulled up and opened the window,"Where to?"

"Uh-the Stark Tower."

"Alright. Hop in."

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**Thanks for reading again! Please feel free to critique my writing. This is my first fanfic I've really tried hard on! I've change my mind and I'm going to post a chapter every 1-4 days. **


	3. Chapter 3

Tony stepped off the elevator in to the living room of his living space in the Stark Tower. It was quiet in there and quiet was good to Tony at the moment. Thoughts raced through his mind as he took in what just happened to him. Maybe he was overreacting but the face that Pepper made at him seemed so unlike her. He loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top buttons on his dress shirt while he sat on the couch. Resting his elbows on his knees he stared out the window quietly. The only thing he could hear was the soft muffled sound of traffic on the street below him. The lights in the distance glowed bright on the buildings.

"Jarvis, I don't want any visitors." Tony called out.

"Would that include miss Potts, sir?" Jarvis asked politely.

He pondered for a moment,"No, that would not include Pepper."

"Very well, sir."

Exhaustion finally decided to lay its heavy hand on Tony as he sat there. He slowly got up and walked into his bedroom to go to sleep. He laid on his bed with all of his clothes on and stared at the ceiling. '_Steve is going_ _to pay_.' he thought to himself as he slowly he succumbed to the rest his body so dearly needed.

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"Oh god, what have I done," she sighed to herself as she walked to the car Happy was driving.

"Hey, Happy." Pepper said quietly.

"Hey, is everything okay?"

"Yeah." She paused for a moment,"Of course."

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Steve whistled happily as he opened the door of the Stark Tower workout room and shut it behind him. As he turned around he saw Tony standing across from him in the room.

"Hello, _Steve_." Tony said with a menacing tone.

"Hey?" Steve was confused.

"I bet you had fun last night. Didn't you?" Tony questioned him.

"Yeah, Pepper and I-"

"I'm going to kill you!" Tony screamed as he lunged across the room and threw a punch directly at Steve's face.

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Steve shut the door behind himself and wiped the blood off of his nose.

"Hey, Steve."

He whipped around quickly,"Oh hey, Pepper." He smiled awkwardly. She was wearing workout clothes so he panicked.

"Oh. What happened to your face?"

She seemed concerned.

"Oh you know. I-I had an accident. Yeah and accident. I-uh tripped. Yeah." He paused and looked at her nervously,"Yeah I'm okay."

"Oh-uh okay I guess." She looked at him a little weirded out,"I'm going to go workout."

"Oh okay," Steve stood in front of the door blocking it.

"Um-excuse me," she said awkwardly.

"Oh! Yeah! No. No you can't go in there," he accidentally glanced off to the right showing Pepper he was hiding something. She was good at studying body language.

"Steve... What's in there?" She was being a little more assertive now.

It was hard lying to Pepper so he took a deep breath and calmed down.

"There is a pipe leak or something. It's really nasty in there," he bared his teeth demonstrating how gross it was.

"Oh," she paused and turned a little,"Okay I'll just go on a run," she turned completely but looked back over her shoulder and saw Steve looking up,"Okay bye."

"Oh yeah yeah. Sorry." He tried being casual but Pepper knew he was hiding something.

Slowly she turned around and walked away suspiciously. Steve waited until the way was clear before he opened the door and slowly peered in. Tony was still on the ground.

"Hey, Stark?"

There was no reply. Steve's eyes widened at the realization of the fact he may have hurt Tony pretty badly. He shut the door behind him and nudged Tony with his foot but there was still nothing. What would he do if Pepper found out? Tony was laying on his face with his arms in an awkward position which didn't look very comfortable at all. Steve bent down and rolled him over. He didn't look very beat up but it would leave a mark for a while. But Steve didn't have to worry about getting in trouble because Tony is the one that started it. As much as Steve didn't care for Stark he couldn't just leave him here so he wrapped his arms around his waist and hoisted him up draping him over his shoulder. He laid Tony down on a couch at the back of the room and sat down next to his feet. After almost an hour waiting for Tony to wake up Steve shook Tony's feet again but he still didn't wake up. This wasn't a good sign. What if he accidentally gave him a concussion? He shouldn't be sleeping right now should he? Steve worriedly played through his mind all the possibilities when he finally realized he should check Tony's pulse. At this thought his stomach dropped. Why did he not think of this before? Steve went white as he slowly put his fingers on Tony's neck to feel for a pulse.

"AHH!" Tony yelled and jumped up.

Steve stumbled backwards,"Oh. My. GOD! You almost gave me a heart attack!" He panted as he held his hand on his chest.

"Your fingers are like ice." Tony paused for a moment,"Hmm ironic." He smiled evilly at Steve.

There was a brief moment of awkward silence while Steve stared at his feet waiting to say something.

"How did I get here? I don't recall laying down on this couch and _why_ were you touching my neck?" Tony inquired.

"Uh-I thought you were dead," Steve stared at Tony while he waited for his reply.

"You thought I was- Why did you think I was dead?" Tony was extremely confused.

"I didn't really think you were dead it was just a for a moment I thought it might be a possibility."

"Wait-[Wait] a second." Tony glared at Steve,"I remember now." He gritted his teeth.

"Look, Tony, how about we settle this the easy way so no one gets hurt again." He put his hands up in innocence.

The look of anger on Tony's face was not something Steve thought he could shake off, but suddenly Tony's face relaxed and his eyes slightly crossed as he collapsed. Steve leapt to his side and laid him gently on the ground.

"Tony?" Steve shook him but there was no reply. "Oh, God." He sighed.

There would have to be something done and now Pepper would find out he fought Tony. He grabbed Tony under the arms and lifted him back onto the couch. He thought that if he didn't wake up in half an hour he would take him to the hospital, but for now he thought he might go take a shower. So Steve left Tony laying on the couch.

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**sorry its so short! I lost inspiration and then someone contented anonymously that they wanted me to continue! The next one will be longer i promise! I kind of needed that kick to get me going again! Thanks! **


	4. Chapter 4

Pepper was still breathing heavily as she walked through the hall she last encountered Steve in. He was acting strange so she decided to see if he was hiding anything. Slowly she turned the doorknob and peered into the room but to her surprise found it completely unchanged. Confused she closed the door again and made her way to her room to take a shower. As she turned away from the door she ran smack into Steve's chest.

"Oh!" She gasped.

"Oh, Pepper. Hey sorry."

"Hi, Steve." She looked at him for a moment and then pointed down the hallway,"I'm going to go get cleaned up now."

"Alright. Bye." He raised his eyebrows and waved.

Once she was out of site he opened the door and looked across the room at the couch, but Tony wasn't there. He panicked for a moment but then realized this was actually good because Tony must be okay. He let out a sigh of relief and shut the door.

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Pepper pulled her long pony tail out as she opened the door to her bedroom and flicked the switch on. She looked at the bed and saw Tony sprawled out across the bed laying on his stomach with his face hurried in he pillows.

"Tony?"

All she got in reply was a low groan.

"Tony, are you alright?" She laughed a little.

He lifted his face barely from the pillows,"Umph-yeah." He groaned.

Pepper walked up next to him and stroked her fingers through his hair but he unburied his face and looked in the other direction. She smoothed the hair away from his face as she sat on the edge of the bed next to him. When she moved the hair she discovered some dried blood.

"Hey," she said as she hopped over him and grabbed the side of his face,"What happened to you?"

"Nothing," he said as he turned his head the other direction.

"Tony, did somebody do this to you?" She said with a concerned tone.

"No." He lied.

"Oh so I suppose your just that clumsy. Tony, tell me." She said this time more assertively.

"Captain douche bag," he said flatly.

"Captain douche- Steve did this?" She sounded very surprised.

"Yeah, you should see _him_." He tried to sound cool.

"I did see him! He didn't look half as bad as you!" She was extremely angry at this point. "Hardly even a scratch on his face. Why did he beat you up?"

"He didn't beat- Pepper, it doesn't matter." He tried to wave her off.

"Um-yeah it does! Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine," he said as he buried his face back into the pillows.

She ran her hand through the hair on the back of his head and he flinched a little. "Does that hurt?" She asked as she quickly removed her hand from his head.

All she got was a shrug from him so she felt his head again and found a bump. His shoulders and neck tensed up when she touched it and he moved his head. She pressed a little harder on his head and he flipped around quickly and sprung up,"Gah! What are you trying to do, crush my skull?" He yelled as he stood on the bed. His facial expression changed quickly,"Woah, head rush." He said as his eyes closed and he began to sway. Pepper grabbed his legs to pull him away from falling on the ground but she grabbed to low and he flopped on the ground. Hand over mouth she stared at him for a moment as he laid on the ground. He stirred a little and opened his eyes after a few seconds.

"Tony, that doesn't seem fine to me," Pepper said as she hopped off the bed to his side.

"I'm fine I just stood up too fast. Just a bit of postural hypo-tension. Relax about it, okay?" He said grabbing the back of his head pretending to be calm.

"It seems like your head hurts a lot."

"Nope," Tony loudly grunted,"I'm fine." He said through clenched teeth.

"Oh yeah right. Maybe you should go to the hospital or something."

"No, no. I just need to rest and put some ice on it." He said still squinting his eyes.

"Okay, I'll get you some ice." She said as she jumped up and ran to the kitchen.

When she left Tony lifted himself up and laid on the bed face down. Pepper ran back in with a pack of ice and set it on the back of his head. He grabbed it and held it in place,"Thanks." Came his muffled reply.

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Pepper stepped out of the steamy bathroom squeezing her wet hair with a towel. Tony was asleep on the bed in the same position she left him in. She then remembered that Steve did this to him and she needed to figure out why. She thought that this had something to do with last night, but that should have been Tony doing the beating up. Suddenly the memories of last night flooded her mind and she began the feel the guilt. The look on Tony's face was not something she could easily forget. She wished that it had never happened more than anything and she wanted to do something to make it better. She hung the towel on the back of the door and opened her closet. She had a dinner today with an old client attempting to pitch an idea so she was slightly dreading it. She selected a dress from the closet and laid it across the foot of the bed causing Tony to stir from the air it fanned over him. She went back into the bathroom and shut the door a little too loudly and aroused Tony. He could hear the loud whir of the hair dryer through the door and at this point couldn't possibly fall back asleep. Slowly he sat up and felt the pack of ice fall off of his head. His head was throbbing as he sat on the edge of the bed and slowly stood up as to not black out again. Unfortunately he never got around to getting his pants hemmed and tripped over them. Breaking the fall mostly with his hand he landed face down on the ground. He wasn't in pain but discovered the sun shining through the window had been warming the carpet and he laid his head down gently.

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Pepper opened the bathroom door while putting her earrings in and looked up to find Tony not in bed anymore. She grabbed the dress off the bed and slipped it off the coat hanger while she stepped around to the other side of the bed to fetch her watch off of the bedside table.

"OW!" Tony yelped loudly as Pepper stepped on his hand.

"Tony!" Pepper yelled just as surprised as him,"Why are you on the floor?" She was still almost shouting.

"I-uh-."

"Did you pass out?" she yelled,"Are you okay?!"

"If you would let me finish my sentence," he said with an annoyed tone still laying on the floor face down,"I tripped and-"

"Knocked yourself out?!" Pepper sounded horrified but looked at the expression on Tony's face and realized she cut him off again.

"I tripped and it felt good down here so I... decided to lay on the floor."

"Are you getting sick?" she asked looking at him like he was crazy,"I'm pretty sure the only time I've ever _genuinely_ preferred the floor over a bed was when I was sick." she said bending down and feeling his forehead to find he felt perfectly normal.

"I'm fine, Pepper." he said swatting her hand away.

"Alright, well I have to go have dinner with a client tonight. Do you think you can survive?" she teased him.

"Yes, I think I can manage." he said as she bent down to kiss him,"Now leave me to die on the floor."

"What?"

"I said leave me to lie on the floor." he said sarcastically.

"I'll leave you to _lay _on the floor." she corrected him.

"_Good bye_." he said loudly and flatly.

And with that Pepper slipped on her high heels and made quickly walked out the room because she was already running late and she was very surprised that he let her kiss him.

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Tony eventually got up off the ground and made his way into the kitchen so he could take some pain killers for his awful headache. The room felt surprisingly quiet with almost no noise from the busy streets below. The sun had almost completely set, leaving the sky a bright orange color and making it very peaceful. As he opened the cabinet to grab the bottle of medicine he felt a low rumble under his feet causing him to pause for a moment, but he thought nothing of it and reached for a bottle of water out of the refrigerator. He threw back the pills a took a swig of water to help them go down and felt another rumble. He looked out the large window but still didn't really worry about it. As he stepped down the raised section of the kitchen he took another large gulp of water, but as he did that he saw a bright light in the distance that got closer and closer until it was blinding for a split second accompanied by a very loud, shrill noise and the shattering of glass. Glass spatter against all the walls and Tony, as he was propelled against the wall with great force. He bounced off the wall and landed on the ground with ears ringing while he was coughing and choking on the water that he accidentally inhaled. His head was throbbed more than ever and the burning sensation in his lungs was like nothing he had ever experienced. When his coughing fit finally ceased the ringing in his ears became less severe, he began to hear the frantic calls from his AI.

"-er? Fur?" it still sounded muffled when the ringing ceased as well and he could hear the true calamity of the situation. "Sir?" The smoke alarms were ringing while Jarvis was calling out for him,"Sir? Mr. Stark are you okay?" The foundation felt like it began to crumble as Tony almost blacked out and experienced severe vertigo. He opened his eyes and shouted,"I'm okay, JARVIS!" He blinked his eyes and tried to clear his head as it spun,"What the _hell_ just happened?" he shouted as he struggled to stand up, balancing against the wall.

"It appears there was an explosion. The heat signatures signify that it may have been a missile of some sort."

"Thank you, JAR-" he was cut off by yet another explosion thrusting him face first into the wall causing his ears to ring again,"JARVIS! I think we need to suit up!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, staggering as he stood up and ran towards his workshop. Within seconds he was suited up and he heard JARVIS in his ear.

"Sir, it seems that you have a large shard of glass embedded in your left thigh and appear to be bleeding at an apprehensively large rate. I would advise getting out of harms way and tending to that."

"I have to see whats going on before I do anything. Do you have any location on Pepper?" he began to get worried about her.

"Yes, sir. She last sent a text from her phone 3 minutes ago from a restaurant on 65 East 55th Street between Madison & Park Avenue."

"Okay good. That's good." He began processing what was going on,"She couldn't make it far from there in three minutes could she?"

"No, sir. It is not likely."

"Send Happy to go get her." The blood loss was beginning to take its toll on Tony as he began to feel light headed.

"Mr. Stark, might I inform you that you have lost a great deal of blood and it is advisable that you seek medical attention immediately."

"Yes, you may inform and warn me, but I never said I'd heed it." He replied hardheadedly.

Tony landed in his suit in the foyer where the last two explosions occurred,"JARVIS, scan the area for any possible threats."

"I am detecting-fzzz- high levels of EMP-fzzzz- that may be vital to my system-fzzz,"JARVIS began to malfunction.

"Oh no. Oh no, no, no." Tony began to get a little worried,"JARVIS get me out of here before you completely shut down."

JARVIS replied but only the static could be heard. Tony engaged the thrusters and within seconds was no where near the tower. News helicopters surrounded the building while firetrucks and ambulances could be heard down below. The sun was completely below the horizon by now and the sky began to fill with clouds. A storm was approaching.

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"mmm-yes I see what you mean." Pepper answered,"I think that-," She was suddenly interrupted by her phone buzzing and looked down to see it was Happy,"Excuse me I need to take this."

"Pepper?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm parked in front of the restaurant, I was informed to collect you immediately." Happy told her very seriously acting like this mission depended upon his life.

"What? Happy, no. I'm at an important meeting with someone." She sounded annoyed.

"JARVIS, told me to get you."

"JARVIS told you? Not Tony?" She sounded a little worried.

"Yeah, he said it was urgent and there may be a possible threat."

"Threat? What kind of threat?" Pepper looked up from her plate and saw two suspicious men at a table eating nothing. She then realized they had been there the entire time she had.

"I don't know, Pepper. I'm coming in."

"No! That's not necces-," Happy hung up.

She put her phone back in her purse and took a breath. Could she really be in trouble she thought for a moment.

"I am terribly sorry, but I'm going to have to cut our meeting short. I have just received some news and I have to go... Now." She gave her client a huge smile and hopped up from her seat and stood there a moment. The two large men in the suits both immediately stood up as well. Pepper saw Happy walking through the doors and she walked towards him. As she approached him he made eye contact with her and noticed the look of fear on her face. She gestured her eyes to tell him to look behind her and he saw the two men closing in on her. One of them grabbed her arm and turned her around. She looked up at the man who grabbed her arm with a frightened look, but luckily Happy came up to her,"Get your hand off of her." He said in the toughest tone possible, but the guy did not let go.

"I said-," Before he could finish his sentence the man punched him straight in the face. He took a moment to retaliate but punched the guy back in the jaw. Pepper used this moment to make her escape and ran for the door and by then the entire restaurant gasped and became silent. The man didn't punch back because too much attention had been attracted to them so Happy slowly backed up towards the door with the eyes of the entire restaurant on him. Outside Pepper was waiting next to the car when Happy ran out the door unlocking the car as he grabbed the handle and made sure Pepper was in the Rolls-Royce. He jumped in the drivers seat and the wheels screeched as they made a quick escape.

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"What is going on!?" she almost screamed in the back seat.

"I really don't know." He answered honestly.

Pepper heard the helicopters above and siren whisp by them so she took out her phone and checked the news.

"Oh my God, Happy."

"What? What is it?" Happy asked.

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**I love cliff hangers. Right as I publish this I am going to begin the next chapter. It may be even longer because I know this one could have been longer. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

"What? What is it?"

"Oh my God. Tony!"

"Pepper, tell me. What is it?"

"It's the Stark Tower. Happy, oh my God!"

"What happened there?"

"There was an explosion or something." She paused for a moment,"You didn't talk to Tony at all?"

"No. JARVIS was the one who called. I'm sure he would have said something if Tony wasn't okay."

"I guess you're right. I'm going to call him."

"Mr. Stark!" The AI was almost shouting in Tony's ear,"Your blood pressure is dangerously low."

"Gah-okay," He groaned as he recovered from the momentary loss of consciousness. Pepper's face flashed up in front of his face indicating he was receiving a call.

"Mmm-hello," he clearly sounded in distress.

"Oh my God, Tony! I saw on the news what happened. You got out? Are you hurt?"

"Yeah I got out," his words sounded like he was thrusting them out.

"Are you hurt? Tony you don't sounds like it feels good."

"I will survive, Pep. Relax about it, okay?" He tried to act calm but was still attempting to force words out. It was just too much strain.

"RELAX ABOUT IT?" She then morphed into that stressed Pepsaurus Tony always fretted.

"Pepper, I can't do this right now." His voice quavered.

"Tony? What's wrong?" She immediately calmed down.

"Oh God. Blood. Ah-umm I can't talk on the phone anymore." He groaned and hung up.

He sounded scared. She had never heard him sound scared like that. And what did he say about blood?

"JARVIS, I think we should go to the hospital." Tony told his AI.

"Yes, Sir. Why did I not think of that before?"

Before he knew it he landed in front of a hospital and was walking inside the doors. He wasn't doing it though. JARVIS seemed to be taking control. People got out of the metal man's way as the suit opened up releasing Tony from it allowing him to collapse on the ground. Immediately a man came and helped him up.

"Dude, you're sure bleeding an awful lot." The stranger told Tony.

"Yes, I've noticed. I need someone to stitch me up so I can get out of here." He said as his legs went limp.

A couple of male nurses grabbed Tony and took him into a room, but by then he had already passed out.

The next thing Tony knew he was laying on a bed with his shirt off and an IV in his arm. He sat up quickly ripping out the IV and pulling off the stickers connecting him to a heart monitor and realized his leg hurt a lot. He grabbed his thigh and examined the large bandage on it. His back felt very stiff and sticky so he stood up and looked at it in the mirror. There were cuts splattered on his back like an abstract painting. He found his shirt at the foot of his bed and slipped it on as he limped quickly out of the room. Glancing down at his watch he realized it had been 2 hours since he got up to take an Advil. As he limped through the hallway he was stopped by a very large male nurse.

"You should not be out of your bed." He insisted.

"No, I've really got to go." He smiled weakly at the nurse as he leaned against the wall beginning to feel very dizzy again.

"You lost a bit of blood. You're going to be dizzy for a while. You're not fit to leave alone."

"No really I'm fine." Tony said as he squinted his eyes and put his hand on the large man's shoulder.

"I'm not going to dismiss you until someone comes to get you or until you have regained your strength."

"Man, I've got my strength," He said punching the nurse in the chest playfully but weakly.

The nurse didn't waste another second and picked Tony up by both of his arms like he weighed nothing.

"Get your arms off me!" He began making a scene,"What kind of twisted parlor game's going down here." He almost slurred in a very southern sounding accent.

The large man carried Tony into the room but he latched onto the door frame like a child.

"Put me down!" He shouted down the hallway.

The nurse grabbed Tony's fingers and pried them off the door frame, but Tony slapped him in the face causing him to let go of Tony for a split second. Tony made it for the door but the nurse dove for Tony's feet causing him to smack into the ground. He grabbed at the smooth surface but was unable to keep a grip as he was pulled back into the hospital room.

"Let go of me!" Tony screamed as his hands squeaked on the tiled floor.

The nurse grabbed his shoulders on the ground and hoisted him up, but Tony continued to struggle. He kicked and shouted until the nurse put his hand over Tony's mouth, but Tony bit his hand. The nurse let out a cry of pain, which alerted other workers in the hospital.

**Really sorry for anyone who is following this story that I haven't updated in a while. I haven't written either and I found the story left like this. I know it's short and I will write more if anyone cares for me to continue. but if there isn't really a demand I don't think I will bother with it. **


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